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White Harbor
White Harbor is the largest settlement in the North, but the smallest of the five cities in Westeros. It is also the North's primary trading port due to it's access to the Narrow Sea and the White Knife. As a result of its southern location, it has more contact with the south and there are more knights and followers of the Faith of the Seven in White Harbor than anywhere else in the north. There are some followers of the old gods, but most follow the Faith. Location White Harbor is located on the eastern shore of the White Knife. This allows it access to both the Narrow Sea as the primary port in the North and some trade with houses further north. History The First Men constructed an ancient ringfort atop Seal Rock at the entrance to the harbor. King Jon Stark founded the Wolf's Den, a castle at the mouth of the White Knife after he drove out sea raiders who were using the harbor as a base for raids inland. For centuries the castle was held by various Starks and offshoot branches, such as the Greystarks. Other families who were lords of the Wolf's Den in the past included the Flints, Lockes, Slates, Longs, Holts, and Ashwoods, all tasked by Winterfell to defend the White Knife. A thousand years before the War of Conquest the land was given to the Manderlys, an exiled house from the Mander River in the Reach, for loyal service to the Kings in the North. The Manderlys developed the city of White Harbor atop their new land near the Wolf's Den. The ancient castle is now used as a prison, as the Manderlys reside at the New Castle and receive visitors in the Merman's Court. During the Dance of the Dragons, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon traveled to White Harbor and Winterfell and convinced the north to join the blacks. Lord Manderly sent his sons, Medrick and Torrhen, to support Rhaenyra Targaryen. White Harbor has not seen wildlings in centuries and has never been attacked by the ironborn. Layout It is clean and well-ordered, with wide straight cobbled streets that make it easy to walk around. The houses are built of whitewashed stone, with steeply-pitched roofs of dark gray slate. Outskirts * Seal Rock is a massive stone dominating the approaches to the Outer Harbor. It is crowned with a ringfort of weathered stones of the First Men that stood desolate and abandoned for centuries. However, the Manderlys fortify it with crossbowmen, scorpions, and spitfires. The stone looms fifty feet above the waters, grey-green in color. Seals often rest on it. * The harbor is divided into the inner and outer harbors. The outer harbor is larger, but the inner harbor offers better anchorage and shelter by the city wall on one side and the looming mass of the Wolf's Den on another. A mile-long, thirty foot wall, with towers every hundred yards, is located on the jetty that separates the two harbors. * The Wolf's Den is an ancient fortress that now serves as a prison. It is located by the water and adjoins the city walls. Houses cling like barnacles to the walls of the Wolf's Den; one is a brewhouse which makes well-regarded black beer. There is a godswood within the prison's walls. * A fish market is located between the outer harbor and the Seal Gate. Seafood available at White Harbor include whitefish, winkles, crabs, mussels, clams, herring, cod, salmon, lobster, and lampreys. Inside the walls The city is protected by thick walls. The Seal Gate opens into the harbor. * Fishfoot Yard, a cobbled square with a fountain at its center, located just outside the Seal Gate. There is an alley leading to a brothel. * The Old Mint, located in Fishfoot Yard. * The Lazy Eel, a winesink renowned for offering the oldest whores and vilest wine in White Harbor, along with meat pies full of lard and gristle that are inedible on their best days and poisonous on their worst. * Castle Stair is a street with steps. It is a broad white stone way that leads up from the Wolf’s Den by the water to the New Castle on its hill. Marble mermaids light the way, bowls of burning whale oil cradled in their arms. From the top there is a view down to both harbors. * The Sept of the Snows is a large sept with a domed roof surmounted by tall statues of the Seven. New Castle * The New Castle is the seat of House Manderly. It is located on a hill inside the city wall, a broad white stone way of Castle Stair leads to its gates from the Wolf's Den below. There is a secret passage beneath the Castle Stair connecting it to the Wolf's Den. * Merman's Court is the great hall of the New Castle where Lord Manderly holds court and feasts. Its walls, floor and ceiling are made of wooden planks notched cunningly together and decorated with all the creatures of the sea. Category:White Harbor Category:White Harbour Category:The North Category:House Manderly